How to Create a Structure Diagram With Visio

Several programs in the Microsoft Office suite allow you to make structure diagrams in case you need to add some charts, graphs, and other visual representations to support any text or other images. However, the available graphs and templates you can use are limited compared with a more dedicated tool like Microsoft Visio. Use Microsoft Visio to pick from a wide number of templates so you have more options in creating a structure diagram.

Click the "File" tab from the Microsoft Visio toolbar and go to "New" to see the different templates. Select "Flowchart" and then go to "Basic Flowchart" if you want to make basic information tracking diagrams or other process planning structures. Click the "Create" button to start with a blank workspace.

Choose any of the shapes on the left sidebar and drag them to any spot in the workspace. If you chose the "Basic Flowchart" template, you should see some of the common flowchart shapes including process, data, and decision shapes. Drag other shapes to the workspace and lay them out as if they are already connected. Click "More Shapes" on the sidebar to see other shapes you can add.

Click the "Home" tab on the toolbar and click "Connector" in the "Tools" section of the toolbar. Place your mouse cursor on top of the shape you wish to use to start a connection path so you can see some indicators on each side of the shape. Click on the side where you wish to create the connection and drag towards the direction of the other shape to which you wish to connect. Repeat this step until you have connected all of your shapes to form a structure diagram.

Tips & Warnings

Right-click on the shape or connector to bring up various customization options such as the arrowheads and fill color.

Click "Text" from the toolbar and then click on any shape if you wish to add text within the shape.